Sustainable Nation

Ellen Jackowski drives HP’s Sustainable Impact strategy and programs that focus on the planet, people and the communities that HP serves. Ellen also oversees efforts to align and integrate these programs with HP’s Personal Systems, Imaging and Printing, and 3D Printing business groups to ensure that sustainability is at the core of HP’s business results. Previously, Ellen was a management consultant focusing on strategy projects for Fortune 500 companies. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University and is a faculty member of the The Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme at the University of Cambridge. Ellen join Sustainable Nation to discuss: History of sustainability at HP HP’s response to COVID-19 and social injustice Approach to ambitious goal setting and addressing climate risk Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Ellen's Final Five Questions Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might h

Sheehy brings to clients, 20 years of project and program management experience. She manages a range of advisory projects including sustainability training initiatives, sustainability risk assessments and greener market positioning support. Sheehy’s other work experience included updating and growing the Corporate Equality Index for the Human Rights Campaign and served as director of Corporate Benchmarking Services at the Investor Responsibility Research Center, where she provided social and environmental screening data on companies to institutional investors. Sheehy holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame, an Master of Business Administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, and is a certified Project Management Professional. Catherine joins Sustainable Nation to discuss: Background on UL and Catherine's role within UL Health impacts and reopening workspaces during Covid-19 Sustainability certification space and importance of pursuing certificatio

Kevin Wilhelm is the author of "How to Talk to the Other Side" and CEO of Sustainable Business Consulting and is one of the world’s pre-eminent business consultants and speakers in the field of sustainability. Kevin brings over 20 years of experience working with 165+ businesses ranging across 37 different industries including clients such as New York Life, Expedia, IAC, Nordstrom, REI, Alaska Airlines, The Seattle Sounders, North Face, Tommy Bahama, the Northwest Seaport Alliance. He has spoken hundreds of times, taught 13 different business courses on sustainability and is the author of three acclaimed books in this field including: Return on Sustainability: How Business Can Increase Profitability & Address Climate Change in an Uncertain Economy Making Sustainability Stick: The Blueprint for Successful Sustainability Implementation Sustainable Jobs: The Complete Guide to Landing Your Dream Green Job. Kevin joins the Sustainable Nation to discuss: Kevin’s new book – How to Talk to the "Other Side": F

Mark Lewis has more than 20 years’ experience as a financial analyst covering energy and environmental markets. He joins from Carbon Tracker, an award-winning think tank, where he was Head of Research. Previously, he was MD and Head of European Utilities Research at Barclays, Chief Energy Economist at Kepler Cheuvreux, and MD and Head of Carbon Research at Deutsche Bank. He was also a member of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures from May 2016 to May 2018. Prior to his career in banking, Mark was an academic at the University of London at Royal Holloway College. Mark has an MA in German from King’s College London, an MPhil in Latin American Studies from Cambridge University and a BA in Spanish & German from Sheffield University. Mark joins Sustainable Nation to discuss: Process of integrating ESG metrics into portfolio evaluation Importance of weighting E, S, and G differently for each sector Current status of the TCFD and its evolvement Advice and recommen

An environmental scientist with over a decade of experience in sustainable manufacturing and design, Saskia is head of sustainability at Rothy’s, a global lifestyle brand best known for creating stylish, comfortable shoes from recycled plastic water bottles. At Rothy’s, Saskia develops strategies to minimize the environmental impact that Rothy’s supply chain has on the environment, advancing Rothy’s sustainable innovations in materials, production and fulfillment and more. Prior to joining Rothy’s, Saskia worked as senior director of sustainability at Method, a brand renowned for their clean, sustainable, and effective cleaning products. At Method, Saskia implemented sustainability initiatives on the ground for the European business and at Method’s LEED-Platinum soap factory in Chicago. Saskia joins Sustainable Nation to discuss: - Circularity and ocean plastic sourcing  - How to communicate sustainability value of products - Importance of industry collaboration - Mission driven company culture and employee r

With more than 20 years experience, Scott Paul has held senior positions at many of the world's leading environmental organizations including Greenpeace. He is an experienced leader within the global sustainability community. His career has been devoted to forest protection and mitigating the effects of climate change. Paul has successfully impacted policy change on both local and international levels and has led some of the most innovative environmental campaigns of the two last decades. Scott Paul joins Sustainable Nation to discuss:  Sustainability movement within the guitar industry Ebony project and vertical integration  Challenges of FSC certification in the music industry  Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Scott's final five question responses:  What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? It all depends on your company. What you're making, what resources you're using. Are you a retailer? Are you a manufacture

Shannon Bergstrom is a LEED-accredited, TRUE waste advisor. She currently works at RTS, a tech-driven waste and recycling management company, as a sustainability operations manager. Shannon consults with clients across the hotel industry on sustainable waste practices. Shannon joins Sustainable Nation to discuss: Strategies for implementing zero waste management Engaging with suppliers to reduce waste Addressing organic waste streams TRUE Zero Waste Advisor certification program Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Shannon's Final Five Questions: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Yeah, think it's really important as a sustainability professional to work for company where you really believe in the value and the vision of the company whatever that may be. For me, it was finding solutions for removing waste and kind of cleaning up the oceans from plastic waste. I think my company RTS as a company is really commi

Mike Wakeland serves as the CEO of DialogueDirect, a leader of face to face fundraising acquisition in North America.  His focus is building strong partnerships with charity clients, while improving quality metrics within the industry. Mike and his team believe quality and quantity can be obtained with the right partnerships and coaching. Mike hopes to create an environment of sharing ideas and strategies to ensure sustainable growth.  His commitment to the B Corp community’s values has driven DialogueDirect to align with the movement as the first B Corp Certified face to face company in the United States. Mike joins Sustainable Nation to discuss: B Corp certification process and lessons learned Talent retention and recruitment after achieving B Corp status Importance of mission driven business Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Mike’s Final Five Questions Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other mission-driven or B Corp business leaders? I would say the one piece of a

Joseph Brinkley, who holds a degree in Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University, was working for the Federal Reserve in Richmond, Virginia when he realized he would rather get his hands dirty than work in an office. He went back to school, the second time attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Horticulture in 2003. Following graduation, Joseph worked with a number of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms while complementing his education with workshops at Virginia’s Josephine Porter Institute, an internationally acclaimed educational facility that advances education and research in Biodynamics. “I was enjoying learning the details of farming land, including best practices for compost and soil management—and gaining insight to anything that contributed to the overall health of the farm,” Joseph remarks. Today, Joseph’s contributions and expertise, including his extensive knowledge of Biodynamic preparations, contribute to ongoing e

Rob Threlkeld is Global Manager of Sustainable Energy, Supply and Reliability for General Motors, leading the company’s energy procurement efforts including the commitment to meet the electricity needs of its global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2050. Threlkeld is responsible for leading the team that supports GM energy procurement and regulatory efforts including negotiating power purchase agreements, natural gas, green tariffs and engineering onsite renewable solutions for GM facilities across the globe, including opportunities associated with battery storage, behind-the-meter applications and EV integration. Threlkeld is a board member of the Renewable Energy Buyer’s Association. He is also involved in the American Wind Energy Association and Solar Energy Industries Association, two energy groups advancing the use of these renewable forms of energy. He serves as industry advisor to the School of Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University. He is a member of the Association of E

Yalmaz Siddiqui is the Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at MGM Resorts International.  He started this role in May 2016 and is responsible for leading a range of environmental sustainability initiatives for the company, including green conventions, food waste reduction, waste management, sustainable sourcing and employee engagement. He is also developing an advanced sustainability strategy framework for MGM Resorts, including metrics and goals, project accountability and roles, and reporting strategy. Yalmaz has a Masters in Environment & Development from the University of Cambridge in England, and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University in Canada. Yalmaz joins Sustainable Nation to discuss: Size and scale of impact of MGM Resorts Sustainable purchasing Food waste reduction and overall waste management strategies Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Yalmaz's Final Five Questions: 1. What is one piece of advice you'd give other sustainability professionals that might help

Bruno Sarda is the President of CDP North America. He works to grow the organization and increase environmental disclosure and action among companies and local governments, as well as manages the North American team and operations. Previously he served as Chief Sustainability Officer for NRG, a leading integrated power company, and has also worked at Dell and Charles Schwab. Bruno is a faculty member and Senior Sustainability Scholar at Arizona State University. Bruno Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Corporate climate action and ESG investing momentum  Sustainability leadership in a post coronavirus world Coronavirus potential to increase company commitments to climate resiliency  Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Bruno's Final Five Question Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Make friends with your CFO. Too many sustainability people seem afraid to spend too much time with their CFO, but I th

The Sustainable Nation Podcast interviews three people involved in the work to bring sustainability to the College Football Playoffs:  Roger McClendon – Executive director green sports alliance Brett Blumberg Director of Sustainable Events & Analytics Ryan Hall - Director of Community Relations at College Football Playoff Through its Playoff Green initiative, the College Football Playoff strives to minimize the environmental footprint of the national championship game and its ancillary activities. An additional objective of Playoff Green is to create a positive, lasting “green” legacy in each CFP National Championship host community. This past year, the comprehensive approach to sustainability included recycling, food recovery, waste management and other sustainable strategies throughout the event in New Orleans.

Erin works to drive positive change across industries by leading WWF’s packaging and material science program.  Through her efforts, she works with business and industry to help them make informed, sustainable material choices for their products and packaging. Her work focuses on the major commodities that go into packaging, which come in many different forms and materials, and how to integrate sustainability into the decisions and trade-offs that must be evaluated across a product’s lifecycle. Erin works with companies to strategically address their packaging work streams by focusing on developing transparency in the supply chain for the major packaging materials and pursuing strategies that reduce the environmental impact of these materials through responsible sourcing. Prior to joining WWF, Erin worked at Hewlett Packard for 10 years as a packaging engineer responsible for the design and implementation of laser jet printer and media packaging.  Erin Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: The importance an

Jennifer Motles is the Director of Social Impact & Sustainability at Philip Morris International. Jennifer is an International and Human Rights lawyer. She is helping to advance PMI's transformation goal of becoming a smoke-free company, with an emphasis on stakeholder engagement and social impact. Previously, Jennifer worked for international organizations including UNCITRAL, UNODC, UNCTAD/ITC, and as Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Officer at the United Nations and other international organizations. Jennifer holds a JD degree from Universidad de Chile; an LLM from University of California, Berkeley; as well as specialized diplomas in women’s rights, sustainable finance, corporate social responsibility, risk communications, and political affairs from IHEID, Harvard Business School, the Harvard School of Public Health, and Stanford University. Jennifer Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: PMI’s business transformation towards a smoke-free future Inclusion: achieving substantial and tangible change

Jeff Wooster is the global sustainability director for Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. In this role, he collaborates with the entire value chain to promote and improve the sustainability value of plastic packaging. He is the past president of AMERIPEN, and is on the Board of Directors for GreenBlue. He serves on the steering team for the Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas Alliance signature initiative on marine debris and as Co-Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Roadmap to Curb Ocean Waste (ROW) initiative. Additionally, Wooster serves as chair for American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division Packaging Team and is a member of the Flexible Packaging Association’s Sustainability Task Force. Jeff Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Moving beyond the circular economy The future of plastics demanding radical collaboration The importance of  affordable solutions Dow's 2025 sustainability goals Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Jeff's Final Five Question

Michael R. Boswell is Department Head and Professor of City & Regional Planning at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo. He has a Master of Science (M.S.P.) and Ph.D. in Urban & Regional Planning from The Florida State University. He has published on topics such as climate action planning, hazard mitigation, adaptive management and governance, local government planning, autonomous vehicles, and sustainable development. He is lead author of the book Climate Action Planning published by Island Press. Dr. Boswell served as an expert advisor on ‘Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Planning’ for the UN-Habitat Cities and Climate Change Initiative and attended the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP-21) to launch the report. In 2017, he represented the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning in the Planners for Climate Action initiative launched at COP-23 in Bonn. Since 2006 he has served as a senior advisor and Project Director, for the California Multi-

As UT Arlington's first Chief Sustainability Officer, Meghna works collaboratively to foster partnerships among academic, research, and operational departments at UT Arlington. She leads institutional sustainability efforts in support of the UT Arlington 2020 Strategic Plan- Bold Solutions | Global Impact that is enabling a sustainable megacity that centers on four themes: health and the human condition, sustainable urban communities, global environmental impact and data-driven discovery. She also works to address opportunities to promote sustainability in several areas energy efficiency, resource conservation, waste management, transportation, education, outreach, community engagement, supporting and encouraging student initiatives, and implementing an interdisciplinary and sustainability-focused curriculum. She also teaches courses related to Sustainability to graduate and undergraduate students at UTA. She has spearheaded launching a Regional Center of Expertise for Education in Sustainable Development Goa

Samantha is currently the Sustainability Consultant at HealthPartners, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has been an integral part of the nationally recognized Sustainability program for over four years. In this role, she works to identify opportunities to strengthen the triple bottom line: people, prosperity, and planet. Such opportunities include, reducing waste, efficient energy management, environmentally preferred purchasing, and employee engagement. Samantha is responsible for implementing and managing sustainability programming across the HealthPartners family of care which includes 8 hospitals, over 70 clinics, and more than 26,000 employees. Samantha Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: What hospitals are doing to address sustainability Climate change, human health impacts and the health care industry's role in this dynamic Leading an organization's first GHG emissions inventory The Minnesota Sustainable Growth Coalition Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Samantha's Final Five

Frank has spent over 27 years working with residuals management and composting both in operations management as well as sales and marketing. In 1993, he started North Carolina’s first source separated organics composting facility. As past principal of Akkadia Consulting, Frank provided professional consulting services on projects of animal waste management, biosolids management, coal ash residuals, composting of industrial residuals, product development and marketing. He has facilitated the turnkey start-up of award winning composting facilities, taking them from concept to feasibility to operational, overseeing permitting, equipment selection, hiring and training of personnel, as well as the development and execution of the product marketing plan. Frank also managed the Novozymes’ Nature’s GREEN-RELEAF™ composting facility from 2003-2015. In 2014, Frank was the recipient of the Hi Kellogg Award for displaying outstanding service to the US composting industry over a period of many years. He has a BS in Plant